Amazon Plans to Launch 2,000 Grocery, Convenience Stores

Amazon recently launched a new cashier-less convenience store, a sort of self-service grocery shop. It would appear that Amazon has big plans for its new venture as reports surface claiming that the company is planning to launch more than 2,000 of these grocery and convenience stores across the United States.

Amazon, the biggest online retailer in the US, is planning to launch its new service in different formats. The company's plan is to have full control of the physical flow of goods from its warehouse to the consumers. This could mean that Amazon is poised to build a bigger delivery network, as it takes on major retail companies like Walmart and Target.

Amazon launched the very first Amazon Go cashier-less store in the its hometown in Seattle. The convenience store uses sensors and artificial intelligence to track the items that consumers take off the shelves. This allows consumers to shop without having to go through a checkout line.

Aside from Amazon Go, the retail giant is also planning to launch more formats of its new store concept. One is a small drive-thru concept, and the other one is a huge, European-style discount chain, according to The Verge.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Amazon is planning to launch a prototype of the drive-thru format within the coming weeks. The report added that two stores are now under construction in the Seattle area.

Regarding its discount chain model, Amazon plans to construct a 30,000-square-foot store much like the IKEA model and then integrate it with instant purchasing features. Using this model, consumers could essentially place their order online or through in-store touchscreen devices and then pick up the package later.